Medical Cannabis Oil Bill Doesn’t Go Far Enough to Help Iowans

Iowa has been making some great strides towards expanding medical marijuana access in Iowa — but are they enough? Last week, House File 524 was passed, expanding the medical marijuana law that is already in place.

This bill proposes to permit the manufacturing and distribution of medical marijuana in Iowa and expanding the list of eligible medical diagnoses, allowing Iowans with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and other chronic and severe illnesses, access to cannabis oil. While this is a great achievement for those suffering from these debilitating illnesses, Iowa will still be behind the 29 other states who have passed more expansive medical marijuana laws.

A major concern with this bill is that only cannabis oil can be used and the THC content can be no more than 3 percent. The 29 states that have more extensive medical marijuana laws allow the entire plant to be used, which has a higher THC content.

This is crucial for those that are suffering from severe pain. Many of these other states also include other medical diagnoses such as glaucoma and mental illnesses such as PTSD.